Tuesday, April 16, 2013

What happens when you're a little more hard core health food nut then what your average grocer can provide? It's a little tough to answer this question when living abroad...but possible.

There are a couple things that I haven't been able to find at the Commissary on post or at the local grocer. I found Nutritional Yeast at the Landstuhl Reformhaus but I wanted to look for some other things too and do a little price comparison shopping. I was intrigued (well, maybe more like "green with envy and drooling") when a friend posted that she was able to get Rinder Schinken (Cured Beef similar to Spanish Cured Ham) at the natural food's store Alnatura. Also, sometimes the commissary just is out of the healthy stuff. (I tend to be a conspiracy theorist about this subject)

I had heard the buzz about this store from others but finally decided to take a drive there myself and check it out. This morning I set out armed with my year 2006 GPS. Well, after an hour of the GPS and me trying to find the place, I gave up (temporarily). Sammy had had it and I had to get him to school. It was such a thorn in my side that I couldn't find it. I just had to try again. I gave up my workout time (Such a sacrifice!) and headed out again. This time, I had Google maps directions as well. So, because of construction and the fact that downtown Kaiserslautern is an evil place (I don't know if the road construction will ever stop).....I got lost still. I was so turned around and side tracked that I got flashed! AG! Speeding ticket to arrive in a month or two in the mail. Despite all of the cosmic vibes trying to bring me down, I found it!

For people looking for a little more variety or, who are very conscious of what they are eating (for allergies or other health reasons), this place is for you. For people who want to really save money....eh, not so much. The food, tea, coffee, lotions and potions here are almost all if not all organic, free trade, and or cruelty free. I spotted Baluga, Red and Yellow Lentils beside the regular ones. They have red Quinoa, chia seeds, soy, almond, rice, and hazelnut milk, all the nut butters one could imagine and yes, my beloved my Rinder Schinken! They now have tiny beef sausages as well. For a kosher gal living in a world of pork this is heaven! Rinder Schinken is lovely on it's own or, wrapped around some melon.